Shoe paradise Zappos is opening the doors to its VIP Club during a special four-day window from Black Friday, November 27, through Cyber Monday, November 30. Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and lasting until midnight on Monday only, log onto to the special holiday VIP Club page and join for free, overnight shipping forever.

My love for Zappos has been documented on this site, plus all my friends and family know too. I am a hazard to my budget when I get within an inch of the site. But keep watching my posts on Luxist for more from Zappos, including great holiday gift ideas -- Zappos also carries bags, clothing, housewares, beauty items, and more -- a gift card giveaway, design contests, and more about its Couture section, which is what Luxist readers really care about, right?

Partnering with The Elton John AIDS Foundation, Jimmy Choo has launched Project PEP, a line of bold, punk rock accessories whose sales benefit the Simelela Rape Center in Cape Town, South Africa. The collection comprises 11 items -- bags, shoes, a cuff, and mobile accessories -- that range in price from $85 - $995. The shoe pictured, the PEP LOOP, is $975. Take a look at the gallery for a few more items from the collection.

The holidays are all about glitz and glamour -- even for those who glam it up year round, Christmas and New Years are a time for stepping it up a notch. Consider these Mirror Mosaic Strappy Sandals by Thakoon to be your over-the-top statement splurge this season. Dazzling slip-on style in silver mirrored leather with brick-effect paneling, black suede trim, cutout effect, and angled peep toe opening. The heel measures a sky-high 4.5 inches and the price checks in at an equally high $1,150.

Like 'em? Then you should also check out these Mirror Mosaic Ankle Boots.

K-Swiss has just released two limited-edition colors for its Classic Hi P hi-top men's shoe that are going to snazz up your wardrobe and add some glitter. Putting a metallic twist on its iconic, classic sneaker, the new colors are a patent red upper with a black sole and a bronze upper with white sole. Available online in U.S. sizes 7-13 (no 12.5). $115

Like this shoe? I hope you have an iPhone.

Mark Ronson collaborated with Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini to design this exclusive beaut for the launch of the new Gucci iPhone App, as well as a new Gucci pop-up shop tour called GUCCI ICON-TEMPORARY.

If you haven't heard of pop-up shops, they're designer stores which exist for just a couple of weeks -- sort of like a trunk show, only it's way more involved, and there's way more money involved, as they open up a whole store. Big name designers have been opening these kinds of stores all over the world.

GUCCI ICON-TEMPORARY will open up to the public October 24 in NYC on Crosby Street and peddle sneakers for just two weeks. The store will then tour to Miami (December 1st), London (2010) and Tokyo (2010). If you're in the US, one model of the Gucci Ronson sneaker collection will be available only to iPhone and iTouch users who've downloaded the Gucci App (click here, it's free).

The Gucci App also features music playlists by Ronson and Giannini, as well as access to the Gucci Little Black Book, which has "best-of information for hotels, restaurants, bars and clubs in more than 20 major cities around the world. Also included in this section is a list of Giannini's own favorite spots around the world," and the Gucci Music Channel.

We love it when music and fashion collide.

"I spent many many years as an avid sneaker collector, so I wanted to make sure these Gucci shoes were truly special, both from an aesthetic point of view and a collectible one," says Ronson. "Frida and I also agreed it was important for there to be a unique musical element to the project, so I'm going to be collaborating with artists, making limited edition tracks for each store opening."

The Gucci Ronson sneakers will come with their own exclusive packaging and a 12" vinyl record with tracks selected by Mark Ronson himself. Visit the GUCCI ICON-TEMPORARY website for more information.

Master leather craftsmen in Argentina can satisfy your cravings for fashion, quality, comfort and originality with custom boots. Clients can choose the style and leather to suit their taste and custom measurements ensure a beautiful fit and happy feet. There is also a truly bespoke option where one can design their own boot to exact specifications, including special details such as buttons made of precious metals. The end result being a one-of-a kind haute couture pair. If you can dream it, they can make it.

Anna Lunna offers women the opportunity to enjoy boots that truly reflect her personal sense of style. The company offers clients their choice of 16 styles, 5 different heel heights, 10 different heel styles and 17 leather colors from which to create the perfect boot for day or night, ranging from a casual day look to a dressier evening look. Once you order your boots the company will rush you an Anna Lunna 8 Point Fit Measurement Kit so that the boots will fit your feet to perfection. The finishing touch is your boots will arrive in about 6 weeks with your name personally engraved inside.

All this individuality comes at a cost with ankle boots retailing at $4,500 and knee high boots retailing at $5,000. While you are spoiling your feet in customized luxury you can take comfort in the fact that the brand is committed to giving back to the community. They claim to do this not only by employing third generation bootsmiths, thereby keeping their craft alive, but by contributing 10% of the proceeds of every boot sold to WORTH, a program that empowers impoverished women around the world.

This is probably the only time I've seen something named after the Vice President cost more than something named after the President. The Biden, which sells for $190, is part of the newest collection from Terra Plana, a London-based shoe company. The Pop Series is a line of modular shoes made with recycled, natural,and biodegradable materials. The Barack shoe ($180) and the Biden ankle boot are the first two styles introduced from the new line and are constructed from glue-less technology. These shoes feature just 10-12 components while the average shoe is comprised of between 50 and 70. The series is designed to be lightweight and flexible and has an interchangeable sole.

I'm not generally a believer in fashion trends as oracles but if we are looking to runway shoes for a hint of the future then maybe glamorous carefree days are ahead. The recent Prada show in Milan showcased crystals which were worn as a glittering mesh over skintight outfits or even more fabulously, dangling from kicky Lucite heeled sandals. The effect was dazzling, a flash of color and light with each step. No word yet on price but truly crafty girls could probably craft their own with a few chandelier crystals.

Custom design T-shirts are commonplace now but how about custom stilettos? Dream Heels is a Canadian company that entices visitors to create and submit their own styles. The designs are shown on the Dream Heels website and can be voted on. Each month a winning design is chosen. The creator receives $250 and a $250 Dream Heels gift certificate as well as $0.50 for every pair that gets sold in the Dream Heels shop featuring that design up to $1,500. So far there aren't any shoes up for purchase yet and all shoes are in the same basic style but still, this is an idea that may have legs.

[via Springwise]

Comme des Garçons avant-garde designer and founder Rei Kawakubo has created four new versions of Converse's classic Chuck Taylors as part of the PLAY by Converse collection. The new styles launch at the end of this month, according to ELLE.

Kawakubo took inspiration from the Converse archives, borrowing a Chuck Taylor silhouette from the '50s that was designed for the U.S. military. Each pair has the Comme des Garçons PLAY heart on the side, making it unique (though some comments in the blogosphere note that these don't seem much different from any other Chucks except for the heart).

New York, Paris, London, Hong Kong and Seoul shoppers will be able to get them in the next week at select retailers that sell Comme des Garçons PLAY, and in October, everyone else can get them after a second launch in the same Comme des Garçons stores as well as at top Converse retailers in the U.S., Canada and China.

The four styles are available in high- or low-top, and in black or white canvas. $100

Usually when we hear about a celebrity shoe fetish it's about a woman. But singer Usher could give any Manolo-loving fashionista a run for her money. It has been reported that his collection spans over 10,000 pairs of kicks. He calls his shoe addiction "ridiculous' but says he can't help himself. His shoe collection spans from Timberlands and collectible Nikes to high fashion brands like Balenciega and Lanvin. Usher also confesses to a collection of 80 watches and a love of designer suits. He does say that since he had children he is thinking more about his future and his finances and toning down his spending. The fashion confessions came as part of his fashion shoot for Uptown Life magazine. Check out a video from Uptown Life with Usher after the jump.

Wow. I'm not sure where to start. Sort of a glamour meets goth look going on here, and although the cutout sides, peep toes, and jagged edges complete with silver and black Swarovski crystal embellishments is sure to be eye catching the bright purple interior that adds so much in this photo is unfortunately for your eyes only, as it doesn't show when the shoe is being worn. An interesting and truly "fierce" addition to your stiletto collection, this Swarovski Sandal by Giuseppe Zanotti goes for $1,150.

There's likely no end in sight to the number of iPhone apps to come. So I'm going to tell you about one more, OK? You'll thank me. Actually, thank The New York Times: Designer fashion hub Net-a-Porter.com released its iPhone application, the Net-App, in mid-July. Shoppers can browse handbags, clothes and shoes; read the site's weekly fashion stories; and make purchases. The Times noted that even though some people use their cell phones to buy virtual goods to use in mobile games or e-books to read on their phones, the masses have not shown much willingness to buy physical goods - especially expensive ones - from their cell phones. (Kind of like how early online purchases, of anything, were made by the few and the brave; now, it's second nature.)

But Net-a-Porter.com, which went live in 2000 and states it has 1.8 million visitors a month, succeeded in getting people to buy $4,000 gowns and $1,000 stilettos on the Web, so iPhone app success may be in sight. The potential for shopping on phones "is massive," said Alison Loehnis, v.p. of sales and marketing at Net-a-Porter.com, in the Times. "We feel very strongly that third-generation technology is the new shop window. No one wants to be bound to their computer anymore."

Net-a-Porter.com is not the first to offer an iPhone shopping app: there's Lucky at Your Service from Lucky magazine and ShopStyle Mobile from ShopStyle. Net-a-Porter, however, developed a tool it calls ClosetFlow, which shows users small images of new products to thumb through. Shoppers can zoom in, flip the phone to look at items from different directions, and read more detailed information about them. The shopper can add the items to a wish list to access later from a computer or buy from within the application, without opening a separate browser window.

Loehnis noted in the article: "Our customers love to shop from their homes or offices, but we want our customers to be able to shop from a cab or while waiting in line and really maximize what little free time they have."

[Thanks to my savvy sister, GP]

Kickbars have been around for a few years now. Back in 2007, Deidre told us about them in "Kickbars, Diamonds for Your Shoes." Well, we weren't in a recession then.

What they are is diamond and jewel-encrusted clips for your shoelaces, basically like grills for your tennies. What they cost? $9,500 and up. That's why I'm telling you about Sneakbars.

In case you don't have that kind of cash lying around for shoe decor but think the idea is really cool, Sneakbars retail for just $49.00. They're made by the same company, and incorporate some of the same cool designs, but use rhinestones instead of diamonds to keep the price down.

And if you meet someone on the street who's like "those aren't real Kickbars, they're obviously just Sneakbars," you live in crazytown and there's nothing I can do to help you.

Summer is in full swing and although in some stores fall shoes are already starting to make an appearance in my opinion it's never too late to buy a great new pair of sandals. I tend to wear flip flops anywhere and everywhere that they're even remotely socially acceptable, which means I have a closet full of them and am always on the lookout for new cute designs. These handmade versions by Lizzie Lou Shoes are on the upscale side of the flip flop family tree, featuring comfy EVA soles, real leather straps, and lots of pretty Swarovski crystal and semi-precious stone embellishments. Prices range from $107-$123/pair.

And if you missed them before, we covered these other Swarovski flip flops earlier this month.